


A little bit of soft cuddles (because we need that these days)

by Worffan101



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28212387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Worffan101/pseuds/Worffan101
Summary: I am going to call this good because it's late and I'm completely burned out.  Alex and her mom have a tense relationship, Sam tries to help with Alex's anxieties in her own way.  Can we just get every sad human woman on this damn show a Kryptonian to love her???   Please?
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37
Collections: Super Santa Femslash 2020





	A little bit of soft cuddles (because we need that these days)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [princessoftypewriters](https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessoftypewriters/gifts).



> Supergirl Secret Santa 2020 prompt response. Wasn't easy--prompt was "A fic finally acknowledging Alex Danvers alcoholism and the psychological abuse from her mother" but also the request included *not showing alcohol abuse*, so I went for the implication of alcoholism and a caring girlfriend not letting Alex slip. Also I never really saw emotional abuse from Eliza towards Alex on the show, just a fraught relationship caused by mutual trauma badly handled by two stressed women one of whom is a workaholic type who almost certainly burns out before asking for help. 
> 
> So basically I wrote a fic about soft cuddling of Alex because THAT I think everybody can get behind. I hope this is acceptable? It's pretty short but I think I got the point across, IDK, it's about 12:30 and I've rewritten this whole damn thing 8 times today, I can't do that again.

“Well,” Samantha Arias said with forced cheer. “At least it’s still technically a turkey?” 

“Oh my god,” Alex Danvers moaned, burying her face in her hands. “I’m _such_ a fuckup!” 

“Nah, we can still fix this,” Sam countered, though if she were honest with herself there wasn’t much to be done about the cinder that was once a Thanksgiving turkey. “We knew something would come up.” Though, they’d been expecting an alien emergency and/or Barry Allen throwing a message through space-time begging for help. “I guess we need to fix the oven again, too—how the heck did it _set the turkey on fire???_ ” 

“What are we gonna _do_? Mom’s going to be so mad, and I’m already going to have to worry about her seeing my new scars…” 

“We can run down to Costco and get a chicken,” Sam decided. “Or, well, I can, it’ll be faster. And your scars are sexy anyway.” 

“Oh god,” Alex groaned. “I can’t serve my mom _chicken_ on _Thanksgiving_! And how are we going to feed Kara _and_ you _and_ a teenager with one chicken?” 

“…good point. Three chickens.” Sam set the turkey down on the kitchen counter and pulled Alex into a hug. “Hey. It’s going to be OK.” 

“No it’s not,” Alex complained with a shake of her head. “Mom’s going to give me the _look_ , the disappointed one, I fucking _hate_ that look.” 

“It’s just a turkey, honey,” Sam pointed out. 

“I need a drink,” Alex muttered, tugging out of Sam’s grip and heading for the wine cabinet. 

“It’s the middle of the day!” 

Alex shrugged. “I need some liquid courage, sue me!” 

“ _Alex_ ,” Sam sighed. 

“I _need_ it,” Alex insisted, going for a bottle of whiskey. “If I’m going to deal with Mom—and I’m already introducing you, she _really_ liked Maggie and I don’t know if she’s OK with you because of the whole, you used to have an evil parasite personality thing, and…” 

“Alex, breathe,” Sam murmured, tugging gently at the bottle. “C’mon. It’s going to be OK.” 

“She’s gonna get on my case about the broken leg, and the stuff with the Nazis in the other timeline when I got stuck in a concentration camp, and Evil Kara, and…” 

“ _Alex_ ,” Sam cut in, filing the questions about another timeline full of Nazis away for later as she tugged the liquor bottle free and set it on the counter. “Talk to me, please?” 

Alex bit her lip, letting herself fall back into Sam’s arms for a moment as she shuddered with sheer nervous energy. It took her nearly a minute to speak up again. 

“It’s just hard, you know? It’s stupid and pathetic and I’m a fucking _badass_ who can take down a Branx and I just know that if Mom sees my scars she’ll be so damn _disappointed_ , and she’s going to be pissed about Kara getting into more tough fights when I should be watching out for her…I don’t want the fight, you know? It’s _always_ a fight and I don’t want it, damn it!” 

“Always?” Sam’s ears pricked up with worry for her girlfriend that she had real trouble keeping off of her face. 

“Since I was a kid.” Bitterness filled her voice. “Gotta watch out for Kara. Keep her safe. My fault when Kara went and used her powers when I was supposed to be watching her. My fault when Kara broke her prom date’s nose when I didn’t even _want_ to go to the damn thing. Mom and I, we fought a lot, ever since Dad died. Fought in college, med school…We didn’t talk for two _years_ after I washed out of _that_.” 

“Why?” 

Alex shrugged. “I couldn’t face her. She was pissed at me. Both. My one call in the drunk tank, she and I fought. She said she wouldn’t bail me out. J’onn did, in the end.” 

Sam bit her lip, her arms tightening a little around Alex’s shoulders. “She sounds, and please forgive me, Alex, like she didn’t treat you very well.” 

“No, no, my mother’s a good person, a _great_ person,” Alex insisted. She went for the whiskey again and Sam moved it out of reach in a blur. 

“Maybe, but good people aren’t always good parents.” Iron arms pulled Alex with Sam as she slow-walked them to a stool by the kitchen island, Alex shifting instinctively to curl up sideways in the Kryptonian’s lap. “Honey. Did your mother ever hurt you?” 

“No!” Alex insisted, shaking her head violently. “No, she’s not abusive. She just wants me to take care of Kara, and keep her safe.” 

“ _Kara_ is an invincible Kryptonian who can fly and shoot lasers out of her eyes who’s dating a freakishly brilliant multibillionaire who built a power-armored battlesuit in an afternoon that turned Lex’s suit to scrap metal in sixty seconds flat because she was _bored_. _You_ are a badass secret agent who can shoot the wings off a fly at a hundred yards, but you’re still mortal, Alex. You _can’t_ be expected to be Kara’s bodyguard.” 

“I have to be there for her, keep her secret identity safe and—” 

“ _Alex_.” Sam’s tone was gentle but warning. “You are not Kara’s keeper. You are responsible for _you_ , and Kara’s responsible for herself. Well, and the city, but she chose that mantle.” She kissed Alex’s earlobe. “Just like you chose Ruby and me.” 

“Kara was so scared when she came to us,” Alex whispered. “Mom needed somebody to help protect her. Then Dad was gone, and Kara was having trouble fitting in, and I was angry, so angry…” 

“I understand,” Sam murmured. “You were stressed and hurt. She was stressed and hurt. You lashed out, she lashed out.” _She was an adult, so it was worse when she did it._ “I’ll be here for you, Alex. I promise.” 

“I just want a holiday that goes right. No arguments, no fights, no time-traveling psychopaths or alien warlords or evil twins from an alternate universe or whatever else. _One_ holiday. I just want one holiday and a decent relationship with my mom. Is that _really_ too much to ask?” 

“No,” Sam promised her. “No, it isn’t.” 

Alex kissed her. It was soft and gentle and Sam leaned into it, both women content to just hold each other as Alex’s tears wet both of their cheeks. 

“Now,” Sam whispered as they finally broke apart, “how about those replacement chickens, huh?” 

Samantha Arias would kill to get that adorable Alex Danvers laugh all the time. To get a little bit every day? Well, she’d definitely consider a felony. 


End file.
